Post by Keith on Aug 5, 2019 7:43:28 GMT -6

US Officials Rush to Stop Turkish Invasion of Northeast Syria After Christians Plea for Help

JERUSALEM, Israel – US officials from the Department of Defense are going to Ankara, Turkey on Monday to dissuade President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from invading Northeast Syria where many ethnic minorities live, including thousands of Christians.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Turkey has amassed tens of thousands of troops on the Syrian border and Erdogan is planning on launching a full-scale military operation against US-backed Kurdish fighters East of the Euphrates.

"We entered Afrin, Jarabulus, and Al-Bab [in northern Syria], and now we're going to enter east of the Euphrates," Erdogan told an inauguration ceremony in Bursa.

Post by Keith on Aug 5, 2019 7:44:05 GMT -6

Turkey to launch offensive in Kurdish-controlled area in northern Syria: Erdogan

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, its third offensive to dislodge Kurdish militia fighters close to its border.

Turkey had in the past warned of carrying out military operations east of the river, but put them on hold after agreeing with the United States to create a safe zone inside Syria’s northeastern border with Turkey that would be cleared of the Kurdish YPG militia.

But Ankara has accused Washington of stalling progress on setting up the safe zone and has demanded it sever its relations with the YPG. The group was Washington’s main ally on the ground in Syria during the battle against Islamic State, but Turkey sees it as a terrorist organization.

Post by Keith on Aug 6, 2019 7:02:33 GMT -6

Syrian rebels say ready to back Turkish-led operation in northeast

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebel commanders said on Monday they are ready to join Turkish troops in an offensive to seize back largely Arab-populated towns and villages in northeast Syria held by Kurdish-led-forces.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday his country, which already has a foothold in northwest Syria, will carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates in northern Syria.

Turkey had in the past warned of carrying out military operations east of the river but put them on hold after agreeing with the United States to create a safe zone inside Syria’s northeastern border with Turkey that would be cleared of the Kurdish YPG militia.

Post by Keith on Aug 6, 2019 7:03:09 GMT -6

Syrian army resumes military operations against rebels in northwest Syria

AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army said on Monday it was resuming military operations in a Russian-led campaign in northwest Syria that has uprooted tens of thousands and killed hundreds, blaming Turkey for not abiding by its commitments under a truce deal.

Syrian state media said on Thursday the ceasefire would depend on militants complying with a Russian-Turkish deal last year aimed at creating an Idlib buffer zone.

“The agreement to a truce was conditional.. This did not happen.. We resume our military operations against terrorist organisations,” said the army statement.

Post by Keith on Aug 6, 2019 7:03:53 GMT -6

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday any Turkish operation into northern Syria would be “unacceptable” and the United States would prevent unilateral incursions, as tensions between Washington and Ankara simmer.

On Sunday, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey, which already has a foothold in northwest Syria, will carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates in northern Syria.

“Clearly we believe any unilateral action by them (Turkey) would be unacceptable,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Japan.

Post by Keith on Aug 6, 2019 7:04:34 GMT -6

Turkey will pay higher price later if does not act in Syria: Erdogan

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will pay a higher price later if it does not do what is necessary in northern Syria today, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday after vowing at the weekend to carry out a military operation in a Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates.

Turkey has undertaken two previous military operations in northern Syria. In a speech to Turkish ambassadors in Ankara, Erdogan said that this “process would, God willing, very soon be taken to a new stage.”

Post by Duck on Aug 6, 2019 8:00:08 GMT -6

Iran brings drones to two redeployments near Syria-Israel border

Iran has redeployed UAVs opposite Israel at Al-Dimas near the Syria-Lebanon border, after the Revolutionary Guards Al-Qods Brigades obtained the permission of the Syrian ruler Bashar Assad. It is located west of Damascus and 40km from the Israeli border opposite the IDF’s Mt Hermon positions, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report. The new UAV post is embedded in a cluster of camps belonging to the Syrian army 4th Division, which is the Republican Guard under the command of the president’s brother Maher Assad.

Our sources report that the Iranians are moving into the small Syrian air base at Al Sharae, just 20km from the Tal Al-Harara hill, which is around 40km from the Israel’s Golan border in the east.

Post by Keith on Aug 7, 2019 7:12:13 GMT -6

Turkey says U.S. getting closer to its views on north Syria safe zone

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the United States is shifting closer to Ankara’s views on a proposed safe zone in northeast Syria, and that its plans for a military deployment there are complete.

Turkey and the United States, allies in NATO, have been deadlocked for months over the scope and command of the zone, given the presence of Kurdish YPG militia that fought alongside U.S. forces against Islamic State militants but which Ankara sees as terrorists who pose a grave security threat.

Ankara has accused Washington of stalling on setting up the safe zone spread over hundreds of km (miles) along Syria’s northeastern border and has demanded that the United States sever its ties with the YPG.

Post by Duck on Aug 7, 2019 7:23:20 GMT -6

US Warns Turkey Against Incursion into Syria

Any Turkish incursion into Syria would be “unacceptable” and would be stopped by the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned on Tuesday. “Clearly we believe any unilateral action by them [Turkey] would be unacceptable,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Japan, Reuters reported.

“What we’re going to do is prevent unilateral incursions that would upset, again, these mutual interests … the United States, Turkey and the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] shared with regard to northern Syria.”

Post by Keith on Aug 8, 2019 9:09:43 GMT -6

GENEVA (Reuters) - The humanitarian adviser to U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Thursday regretted the collapse of a ceasefire in the northwest, saying that fresh violence threatens the lives of millions after more than 500 civilians were killed since late April.

Najat Rochdi, senior humanitarian adviser to Pedersen, noted the agreement between the United States and Turkey deal announced on Wednesday to set up “safe zone” in northeast Syria.

“Humanitarian actors are increasingly concerned by statements suggesting a possible military intervention, which would have severe humanitarian consequences in an area that has already witnessed years of military activity, displacement, droughts and floods,” she said in a statement.

Post by Keith on Aug 9, 2019 7:34:55 GMT -6

Syrian government gains ground from rebels in northwest

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces seized ground from insurgents in northwestern Syria on Thursday, sources on both sides said, building on advances since the military declared an end to a brief ceasefire earlier this week.

The humanitarian adviser to the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria said the new upsurge in violence in the northwest threatened the lives of millions after more than 500 civilians were killed since late April.

The Russian-backed army operations resumed on Monday after the government accused neighboring Turkey, which backs some rebel groups in the area, of not abiding by commitments in the truce. The army’s capture of al-Sakhr in northern Hama province on Thursday followed the taking of two villages on Wednesday.